Stuff it, season it, and submit it for a roasting
Roast recipe competition for kiwi cooks
The Selaks NZ Roast Recipe Competition is on!
Keen home cooks can submit their unique roast recipe for the opportunity to win an intimate cooking class for two with NZ food writer Julie Biuso.
Hunt out your favourite roast recipe, add your personal touch, match it to a Selaks wine, roast it and post it on the website: www.selaksnzroastday.co.nz.
The nationwide competition gives amateur chefs the opportunity to have their recipe judged by one of NZ’s top food writers.
Julie Biuso believes food is an integral part of family life: “Sharing a meal is the best way to bring your family together and if it is home-cooked, so much the better.”
Other prizes include two nights’ luxury 5-star accommodation, signed copies of Julie’s cookbook ‘Never-ending Summer’ and a mixed case of Selaks Winemaker’s Favourite wines.
Selaks NZ Roast Day takes place on Sunday 7 August and the competition closes the following day (Monday 8 August 2011) – enough time to sniff out a winning recipe, fire up the test kitchen and get your roast a-cookin’.
The winner will be announced by Friday 12 August.
For more details on the competition and for recipes, tips and the opportunity to win delicious prizes visit www.selaksnzroastday.co.nz
Lamb Roasts with Bacon and Shallot Stuffing
Julie Biuso
Serves 6
Ready in 50 minutes
Including anchovies in a lamb dish may come as a surprise, but they season the stuffing rather than give it a fishy flavour. These small easy-to-carve roasts, cut from a single muscle, are sold as pan roasts or lamb nuggets. If panko crumbs are not available, use fresh white crumbs.
Suggested accompaniments: fried eggplant, white beans and roasted tomatoes
Wine match: Selaks Winemaker’s Favourite Merlot Cabernet
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup chopped shallots
100g NZ free-range streaky bacon, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
3 anchovies in oil
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
¾ cup panko crumbs
1 medium (size 6) free-range egg, lightly beaten
2 lamb pan roasts or lamb nuggets, weighing around 375g each
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup dry white wine such as Selaks Winemaker’s Favourite Chardonnay
1 Put butter in a small saucepan with shallots, bacon and garlic, cover with a lid and cook gently for about 10 minutes, until tender and lightly golden. Cool.
2 Drain anchovies, mop with paper towels, then mash with a fork. Add rosemary and anchovies to shallots and bacon, then mix in crumbs and egg.
3 Remove as much silverskin from lamb roasts as possible by slipping a small sharp knife between silverskin (membrane) and meat, and pulling away silverskin as you slide the knife over the meat (this makes the lamb more tender). Slit lamb roasts open to form a deep cavity for the stuffing. Season meat with salt and pepper and fill each cavity with stuffing. Tie up neatly with string.
4 Preheat oven to 200°C (fanbake). Heat oil in a shallow roasting tin on element (one which fits the lamb snugly) over medium heat. Add lamb and brown quickly on one side. Turn meat over then transfer to the oven. Cook for 15 minutes, turning once during cooking. Remove from oven, salt lightly, and then let lamb rest for about 7 minutes before slicing thinly. Pour wine into the roasting pan and then set over a medium heat until it bubbles up.
5 Arrange sliced meat on a heated platter and pour over pan juices. Serve immediately.
www.selaksnzroastday.co.nz